SAN JOSE — Sometimes scoreless ties have a beautiful artistry in soccer with last-ditch saves and whistling balls just inches from their mark.

The Earthquakes’ 0-0 result against FC Dallas on Saturday night was not one of those times. As much as players and coaches tried to squeeze the positive out of it, they didn’t have much to laud. San Jose (5-3-5) extended its home unbeaten streak to 12 Major League Soccer games in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,000 at Avaya Stadium. It moved into a fifth-place tie in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beyond that, well, yuck.

But it’s easy to forgive the depleted team for feeling OK with what transpired.

“Getting a draw against one of the best teams in the league isn’t the worst thing,” said Tommy Thompson, who had the difficult challenge of replacing Anibal Godoy in the central midfield.

Godoy, arguably the team’s most valuable player, was one of five Quakes on international duty. The level of play dropped significantly as San Jose went forth without four key stars who have scored 12 of 16 goals this year: Chris Wondolowski, Simon Dawkins, Alberto Quintero and Godoy joined their respective national teams to prepare for the Copa America Centenario that begins June 3 at Levi’s Stadium.

“We’ve had injuries since the second week of the season,” goalkeeper David Bingham said. “This is nothing new for us.”

It’s a little bit different for coach Dominic Kinnear, who could barely fill the 18-man roster. He had to use two goalkeepers and the injured Innocent to get to the full 18.

“We tried to win,” Kinnear said. “At times, we let ourselves down.”

That’s putting it mildly as each team had only two shots on target. It might have been a bit too much to ask Thompson, 20, to equal the symmetry of his more experienced international teammates. But he fought hard to the end and almost headed a shot past goalkeeper Chris Seitz with three minutes left.

“I was farther out than I thought,” he acknowledged.

Thompson’s central midfield partner Fatai Alashe praised Thompson’s effort but added it is tough to ask players to find their rhythm when they haven’t had many minutes this season.

“There’s always a learning curve,” said striker Quincy Amarikwa, who returned after missing four games with a hamstring muscle strain.

Amarikwa said he felt good after playing 71 minutes with fellow forward Chad Barrett. But Amarikwa didn’t get any shots while Barrett had only two.

“We’ll adjust and be ready come Wednesday,” Amarikwa said.

The Earthquakes have a quick turnaround in playing at Portland before the MLS break for Copa America. Kinnear can only hope he has more choices if Matheus Silva (left knee) or Clarence Goodson (back) somehow return.

But, really, expect more of the same.

“It was a very conservative game for both teams,” FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja said.

FC Dallas (8-4-3) also didn’t have much without midfielder Carlos Gruezo (Ecuador) and defender Maynor Figueroa (Honduras), who were on international duty, while leading scorer Michael Barrios sat out with a sprained knee.

The most excitement came during intermission when the final minutes of the Warriors’ game were broadcast on the stadium’s big screen.

Dieter Kurtenbach says the San Francisco Giants are embarrassing themselves by fixating on the luxury tax instead of being more aggressive in rebuilding their 98-loss team. Also, he talks about why the 49ers need to pay Jimmy Garoppolo now, or else.